Dark Souls
by Dimitri1
Summary: Doma is a Sith apprentice, but can he follow the harsh rules of the Sith, and still feel what he does is right?
1. Mysterious dreams

Anger.that was his life. Since his youngest years, Doma had received  
training as a Sith apprentice. He couldn't really remember having much  
choice in the matter, all he could remember was a mysterious figure in a  
black cloak talking to his mother, and he assumed that must have been the  
moment his fate was decided. Not that he disliked the path that had been  
laid before him, but he had always had a feeling, that there was something  
more. He knew the galaxy well, the tutors and teachers made sure he knew  
that, and although he had a good knowledge of each civilization, he could  
not shake this feeling. It had become almost an obsession over the past few  
weeks, but he had put it down to unhappiness in his current lifestyle.but  
what unhappiness?  
He awoke early one morning, the previous nights training had gone quite  
well. Though Doma was only 14 , he was one of the more highly skilled  
pupils in terms of the dark side of the Force. He looked from his desk in  
the corner, to the window. He could hear the sound of birds pouring into  
the room through the window, which brought him to his senses. He had been  
trying to remember what he had been dreaming of, but he knew what would  
materialise in his head when he did remember, it was the same every night.  
He would see a lightsabrehilt, on the floor of a dark room, and as he  
approaches it, it would flare into life, and fly into his hand. Each time  
he dreamed this, he would swing the sabre a few times, but then another one  
would appear, a little way away from him. This one however would stay where  
it was, and if Doma approached it, it would move away from him.  
Sure enough, as he concentrated, the exact same images manifested in his  
mind.  
"Awake now?" a cold voice emitted from the darkest corner of his room.  
"Master" Doma recognised his voice immediately. Ruhmer, one of the highest  
ranking Sith alive today. Doma continued, "How long have you been here?"  
Ruhmer smiled, however small a smile "You may be skilled, Doma, but you  
still come nowhere near to me, I came to bring you something".  
Ruhmer put his hand into a pocket of his long, black robes, and brought it  
out again with his fingers clutched around a lightsabre. Doma felt the  
bottom drop out of his stomach, he knew his master did not take kindly to  
Doma misplacing things, especially important things like this.  
Ruhmers eyes almost glowed under his hood, red, and angry. He strode from  
his corner quickly towards the apprentice and raised him clean out of bed,  
his fist clenched firmly around Domas neck.  
"Just be thankful," he snarled "If I'd used the force you'd be dead". And  
with that, the towering mass of anger that was Ruhmer left the room,  
letting Doma fall to his blankets below.  
Doma rubbed his neck, as Sith weren't trained to use the force for healing  
purposes.  
He realised he must have left his saber in the training hall last night,  
and now he wished he hadn't. He knew it was a bad idea to cross Sith Master  
Ruhmer, as well as being one of the best, he also had on of the shortest  
tempers of all the Sith. Doma knew he would probably never equal his  
Master, but only a fraction of his power was all that he wanted, enough to  
prove to his Master that he was strong.  
He stood up, rubbed his neck once more, and took his saber over to his  
desk. He would not need it in the safety of the temple. Then, feeling  
strangely tired, he dropped onto his sleep couch, and slowly wavered into a  
light sleep, in which he was haunted by the same dream as always. 


	2. The force of the Sith

Doma knelt in front of the towering figure that was his Master, in the  
centre of a round room, encircled by small yellow creatures.  
"These are Ysalamiri, Doma, they drain the essence of the force from living  
beings in its vicinity."  
Ruhmer spoke for what seemed like hours, when in reality the Sith liked to  
keep things very short and concise.  
"Move one." Ruhmer finished. Doma did not quite understand.  
"But Master, you just said yourself it cannot be done"  
"Fool!" Ruhmer erupted "To be strong you must learn to draw the force from  
anything available! Similar to these Ysalamiri." he paused for breath "This  
is a difficult skill to master, the Jedi do not think it important to  
learn, but if you are without the force, you are without a weapon. Now,  
drain the force! From me, the Ysalamiri! All the pupils in the temple!  
Anything it takes, just move a Ysalamiri!"  
Doma held out a hand, and felt the living force around him circulating  
towards these creatures. He concentrated hard, trying to reverse the flow  
of the force towards him, and for around 10 minutes, nothing happened.  
Then, he felt the flow slowing down, if only slightly, it encouraged him to  
keep trying, and he tried harder than he had tried before. He felt sweat  
pour down his brow, and down his neck, dampening the hood of his cloak,  
when suddenly, something hit him in the face, and knocked him over.  
He sat up, and looked on the floor to his right, where he observed a  
Ysalamiri, he had moved it.  
"Good," the cold voice of Ruhmer sounded, "You have done well, Doma, but  
you must practice this skill, or all the hard work you just did will be to  
no avail."  
Doma slowly got to his feet "Yes Master, I will."  
"Doma, are you forgetting something?" Ruhmer asked him in an agitated  
voice.  
Doma felt on his belt, and realised his sabre was missing. He quickly  
glanced around and saw it on the floor a few feet away; he must have  
dropped it when he fell.  
"I'm sorry Master, please forgive me," Doma held out his hand, and let his  
sabre fly into his hand, whereupon he quickly put it away.  
Ruhmer turned his back on Doma, "You are strong, Doma," Ruhmer said, then  
quickly wheeled round and in almost a flash, he was standing in front of  
Doma, "Do not grow weak at this crucial stage in your training." With that,  
Ruhmer left the room.  
Doma walked towards a window, and leant on its sill, looking out  
into the barren wasteland that was Yavin 4. The temple had stood here for  
as long as anyone could remember. He could see into the combat training  
hall, a young girl had been injured, and was receiving medical assistance.  
Doma thought for a moment, and the words of his Master echoed in his brain,  
".if you are without the force, you are without a weapon". He wondered, was  
it him who caused the accident? Had he left the pupil without a weapon when  
he drained it from her?. He had seen the girl before in passing, and she  
wasn't someone he would want to hurt, but he was probably responsible. Doma  
couldn't help feeling remorse, but he knew he shouldn't, he would soon be a  
Sith, and remorse was a weak emotion by their teachings. What would Ruhmer  
say? "Forget her, she is a Sith too, she can handle pain!" but Doma didn't  
want to be the one to cause people pain. He knew there was a chance the  
girl could have died, as the Sith didn't use safety precautions, they tried  
to teach pupils to handle pain.  
Just then, a siren sounded. He knew what it meant, an emergency, and all  
pupils to their quarters, but that also meant all facilities would be  
locked, including the one he was in.he was trapped. He thought quickly,  
what would he do? So in desperation he tried to unlock a door with the  
force, but to no avail. He looked around quickly, and saw an open window on  
the other side of the room. Without thinking, he dashed across the room and  
dived out of the window, summoning the force to let him soar through the  
window opposite.but he had forgotten the properties of the Ysalamiri, and  
fell. 


	3. Vitox

What could he do? He was plummeting from one of the tallest towers of the  
temple, to hard terra firma. As he fell he could hear the pupils and  
teachers running through corridors in a rush, but he was moving so quickly  
it was all a sort of mesh of sound waves. Doma frantically flailed his arms  
about, but whatever he had hoped would happen didn't. He was going to  
die.that was the only thought in his head. Every branch of every tree that  
came within holding distance of him he tried to grab, but they either  
slipped through his fingers, or snapped off as he caught them. Then he felt  
something, a power radiating below him, on the ground.then something  
miraculous happened, and Doma started to slow down! He was falling about as  
fast as a feather. As he neared the ground he saw a figure in a black  
cloak, and Doma assumed this must have been the person who saved him.  
Finally his feet touched the ground. He could hear screams and people  
shouting everywhere, as well as a loud "thump" noise, all mixed in with the  
wailing of the warning siren. Doma suddenly remembered where he was and  
turned his attention to the Sith stood before him. The tall figure lowered  
his hood, he had a scar along his right cheek, almost like an extension to  
his mouth. Any Sith or apprentice would recognise this figure.Master Vitox.  
Vitox was a renowned fighter who had killed more Jedi than anyone would  
have thought possible. Though Ruhmer was the stronger, braver, and smarter  
of the two, he did not fight so much and instead, trained the younger  
generations.  
Vitox drew breath, and spoke, "I don't remember the top floor windows being  
an emergency exit". His voice was deep, but he spoke quickly.  
"I apologise, Master Vitox, but I was trapped and I heard the sirens." Doma  
was positively frightened of Vitox, the way he voiced his message calmly,  
whereas Ruhmer would have made sure everyone in the Galaxy knew.  
"Then stay put next time, now the entrances and exits have been sealed off,  
you won't be able to get to your quarters until the threat is gone." As  
Vitox informed Doma of this, he looked around quickly, almost as if looking  
for something.  
Doma now felt the fear leave him, and it was replaced by a strong feeling  
of curiosity, "Master, if I may ask, what is the threat?"  
Vitox looked Doma straight in the eyes, and stepped towards him, "What is  
your name, apprentice?"  
Doma was surprised, one of the best Sith was asking for his name! "Doma",  
he said clearly.  
"Well Doma, if you must know the Rancors we keep for training in the temple  
have escaped, there's about 30 in all on the loose." Vitox spoke with no  
worry in his voice, yet no confidence, it was almost a drone. Doma imagined  
it, 30 Rancors roaming the temple, destroying it, possibly even killing the  
inhabitants of it. He knew very well that it would be difficult for the  
teachers to handle.  
"Let me help, I'm one of the best at my age!", Doma hoped Vitox would let  
him, but it was an unlikely proposition.  
"Help!? Far from it! I'm taking you somewhere safe for the time being, now  
come with me." Vitox strode off, and Doma followed him. They started to run  
when they reached the courtyard, and Doma could see why. 6 Rancors were  
striding around the courtyard, knocking anything that stood in their way  
flying. There were around 30 teachers and Masters trying to subdue the  
beasts, and as Doma ran he could see Ruhmer. Ruhmer was leading the charge  
of a group of 10 teachers on the nearest Rancor, but before he could see  
what would happen, Vitox unlocked a security door and thrust him inside.  
"Now go to your quarters, I'll lock this door, and don't even think about  
trying another window." And with that, the door slid shut, and Vitox was  
gone.  
Doma waited a little while, and listened to the shouts and screams emitting  
from outside, then started to walk slowly down the corridor. It was  
strange, even though he knew what was going on outside, the temple seemed  
strangely serene. The sun was setting and it cast an orange glow on the  
opposite wall of the corridor. Doma started to think, what if Ruhmer  
doesn't make it? Then he shook the feeling. This was Ruhmer he was talking  
about, nothing would happen to him. He rounded a corner and saw his  
quarters at the end of the long hallway. He didn't change his pace, but as  
he reached the first statue he heard a "crack". Doma looked out of the  
nearest window, and saw nothing. He continued down the corridor, but this  
time, the sound was too loud to miss, so loud Doma had to cover his ears.  
When it stopped, Doma felt something, a ripple in the force, and he dare  
not turn around. A loud breathing noise had replaced the cracks. Doma  
slowly turned his head to look down the corridor he had just come from, and  
there stood a gigantic, ugly orange mass, that was a Rancor, and it had  
spotted him. 


	4. Ruhmers charge

Note: This chapter takes place at the same time as the last one, and is  
from Ruhmers point of view  
Ruhmer hid behind a rock, along with 3 other Sith, the sound of Rancors and  
screams surrounded them.  
"We've lost 5 already Ruhmer, and I don't think we can afford to lose any  
more" one of them said in a worried tone of voice  
"Those things are unstoppable, we only ever use them for evasion training,  
cause no ones been able to slay one!" replied another. Ruhmer felt angry,  
why was no one trying to kill them? Why were they sat debating behind a  
rock when the Rancors could be killing everyone else?  
"Why do I bother with these team efforts!," Ruhmer bellowed, and jumped out  
from behind the rock. He landed in front of a Rancor that was just about to  
knock over a tower and powered on his lightsabre. The crimson beam hummed  
gently as Ruhmer knocked back his hood and ran at the beast. The Rancor saw  
Ruhmer coming at him and turned its attention on him, its yellow teeth  
snarling at the human brave, or stupid enough to challenge it. Ruhmer  
thought quickly and stopped a few feet from its legs. The Rancor tried like  
a child in a rage to stamp on him, but Ruhmer was too fast, and dodged each  
time. The Rancor changed its strategy, and started swinging its tree trunk  
arms to hopefully knock Ruhmer off balance. However each time the Rancor  
swang it's arm Ruhmer somersaulted to the side, over its arm. Ruhmer  
stopped to catch his breath and the Rancor saw its chance, it drew back its  
fist and attempted to punch the annoying human straight across the horizon.  
But Ruhmer knew what he was doing, and shot a quick bolt of lightning at  
the Rancors face. The monster howled in pain and withdrew its hand to  
clumsily rub its eyes. Ruhmer took this opportunity and threw his sabre  
straight into the Rancors leg. The Rancor didn't seem phased until it  
noticed the blade in its limb, whereupon it tried to scratch away what it  
thought was an "itch" Ruhmer smiled evilly, and sped through the legs of  
his foe, and as he did he clutched his sabres hilt and retrieved it.through  
the back of the Rancors leg.  
The leg dropped straight off, and the Rancor fell to the floor. Ruhmer  
walked up to it, writhing all over the floor, and thrust his lightsabre  
through the monsters head, killing it.  
The 3 other teachers ran over to Ruhmer. "What were you thinking!?," one  
said in a rage "You could have been killed!"  
"Well done Ruhmer, your anger led you to victory." Ruhmer knew the voice,  
and hated its owners guts. He turned around, and saw Sith Master Vitox,  
accompanied by 7 other Sith. Ruhmer hated Vitox. Vitox was the weaker of  
the two, but he always stole the credit for everything, and Ruhmer loathed  
him for it.  
"What do you want?" Ruhmer asked, resent in his voice, "We have everything  
under control here."  
Vitox smiled a small smile, "I don't think so, you lost 5 on one Rancor  
already. I've come to bring reinforcements."  
"You think I need extra men? I took that Rancor myself!" Ruhmer was  
furious! This was an insult! Vitox was nowhere near as good as him, and yet  
he was sending reinforcements for him!  
"We all need help sometimes, I thought tha-." Vitox cut himself off, and  
closed his eyes, "Someones in danger, Ruhmer, take care of the threat, I  
must go." And with that he left. Ruhmer knew why he had left, he had sensed  
it too, Doma was in trouble. He didn't entirely trust Vitox, but at least  
Vitox was adept in the force, he would be able to handle it.  
"What are we to do Master Ruhmer?," one of the teachers asked. Ruhmer  
thought for a moment.  
"If we can topple them we can take them easily, follow me!" Ruhmer declared  
his plan, and it was followed by the sound of 10 lightsabres turning on.  
Ruhmer led the charge towards the next Rancor, as he felt the presence of  
his student near. 


	5. Domas Test

Doma stood petrified, and stared at what he was almost certain would be the  
last thing he would stare at.the ugly face of a Rancor that had just broken  
into the corridor. It snarled at him and started to walk slowly towards  
him. Doma didn't want to die, he had no choice, he would have to battle it.  
Doma felt on his belt for his lightsabre.kept looking.still looking.he  
didn't have it.  
"Not now, please not now!" he thought desperately, but he didn't have long  
to think as a huge orange Rancors fist came flying towards him. Doma didn't  
have much choice; he dived to the wall of the corridor and hid behind a  
statue, as the Rancor promptly erected a new entrance to the corridor. It  
looked around stupidly, almost as if it expected to see Doma running down  
the corridor. Doma pressed himself against the statue. He was breathing  
quickly, but as quietly as he could to try and hide from the monstrous  
beast now searching for him. He had no weapon.no, that wasn't true, he had  
the force, but how could he use it to outsmart a Rancor? He needed more  
time to think. He shut his eyes.it almost felt as if he was falling.falling  
backwards, then he hit the ground. Doma checked around, and saw the hideous  
figure of the rancor, clutching the statue he had been hiding behind. The  
Rancor raised the figure of a famous Sith above his head and brought it  
down towards Doma. He didn't have have many options available here, so he  
put out his hand and tried to slow the fall of the Rancors hand. Though he  
was one of the higher level students, he had never tried to subdue a  
Rancor.would he be able to?. Doma closed his eyes, and counted down in his  
head to his impending doom, "3.2.1.that's it" but he was still thinking  
".1.that's it! But it isn't! I'm still here" He opened his eyes, and saw  
the struggle ridden face of the Rancor, holding it's weapon level with it's  
head, which was where it was staying. Doma couldn't believe it; he was  
filled with a newfound confidence, he was beating the monster that sought  
so badly to kill him. He rolled to the side and let the hand of the beast  
fall. The Rancor was surprised, and held its pose for a few moments, with  
its hand on the ground clutching its mutilated statue. Doma shot a quick  
lightning bolt at the Rancors side, but its thick hide prevented any  
damage. The monster stood up again and tried wildly to knock Doma into the  
ground, but each time it struck, Doma and his newfound confidence had moved  
elsewhere. Doma jumped onto the wall, then to the opposite wall, then  
straight over the Rancors head. Doma, now stood behind the Rancor, summoned  
all the strength in his body and delivered a kick to the Rancors back.  
Normally nothing would have happened, but Doma could feel the force, and  
used it to his advantage, and sent the rancor head first into the ground.  
Doma was winning! He felt the dark side of the Force flow through him, it  
made him strong, and angry. Doma knew just how to dispatch the Rancor. He  
felt the force flowing towards the Rancor, and fought to reverse it. The  
Rancor was far less powerful, when compared to the Ysalamiri he had  
practiced on earlier today, and the flow reversed easily. He absorbed the  
force, and there was a lot of it considering the size of the monster. Using  
all the force he could muster, he pushed the Rancor, straight through the  
hole it had created in the wall, and into the jungles of Yavin 4.  
It was gone. Doma felt so alive! He could feel evil emotions inside him, he  
knew it was wrong, but it made it all the more right! He was strong, Ruhmer  
could not tell him otherwise, he had tackled a Rancor in an enclosed space  
without his sabre!  
He imagined himself above Ruhmer, above Vitox, he sought power, and now he  
had tasted it he needed more.more, yet he felt weak.he was weakening, he  
felt light headed, his body felt too heavy for his head.head? Why would it  
put pressure on his head?. He felt his body wavering.and his life almost  
went into slow motion as he fell to the ground.the last thing he saw was  
the sun dipping under the horizon.or the window sill, he couldn't tell,  
then his head hit the ground, and it all went blank. 


	6. Humiliated

Had someone turned out the lights?. Everywhere was dark.  
"What gives?, where am I? How did I get here? Wheres my Lightsabre? Oh  
yeah, I lost it, must've been when I fell." His head was awash with  
questions, "Oh yeah, here it is." He noticed his lightsabre on the floor.  
Doma was must relieved that he found it before Ruhmer did.  
"Better check it's still working," Doma mused, and turned his weapon on.  
Sure enough, the red blade of his sabre flickered into life, and hummed as  
Doma swung it through the air. He turned it off and attached it to his  
belt. Then Doma heard a noise, coming from behind him. He turned around and  
saw another sabre on the floor. Doma was confused, had he picked up the  
right one? Or was it a trap?  
He slowly approached the second sabre, but as he did so, it moved away from  
him  
".Doma.Doma..ake up.wake up," What was that voice? Why wouldn't it leave  
him alone he wondered?  
"No," he told himself "I'm busy."  
"Doma.Doma.,"  
The room was getting brighter, but so was everything else. If only he could  
get to it, he longed for it, he needed it!"  
"DOMA!"  
"Wha-!" Doma awoke with a start, and found himself in bed, with Ruhmer  
peering down at him.  
Ruhmer looked angry, "If I ask you to do something you do it first time!  
Instead of shouting "no"."  
Doma felt embarrassed, he had shouted at his Master, and he knew he should  
have come to his senses a lot faster than that.  
"Master Vitox has told me of your escapades last night."  
Doma remembered, and felt a thrill as he remembered how he had dealt with a  
Rancor "Master, I have grown stronger, I am sure of it! I beat a Rancor in  
that very corridor."  
Ruhmer looked at him patronisingly, "No, 30 other people did, myself  
included. You didn't beat that Rancor, you just flung it away, and it was  
still in perfect health when it met a retreating group."  
Doma was speechless; surely the calibur of force used deserved certain  
recognition, even if he had endangered the lives of a retreating party.  
"Here," Ruhmer threw Domas lightsabre rather hard at Domas stomach.  
"Tomorrow we leave on a mission, make sure you are ready. Do not fail me  
again Doma." And with that particularly harsh piece of advice, Ruhmer swept  
out of Domas room.  
Doma felt crestfallen. He had tried his hardest and still in the eyes of  
his master he was not good enough. Well he would show Ruhmer, he would show  
him that he was strong and not just a weak child.  
He lay back down in his dark room. Far away the sounds of people trying  
to rebuild the temple could be heard, crashes and bangs as well as the  
sound of strained voices. It must have been very early morning he thought,  
so he tried to get a little sleep despite the faint noises. He wondered  
what he would be doing tomorrow, the last mission he left on with Ruhmer  
hadn't gone so well, Ruhmer of course blamed Doma.  
They had come up against heavy resistance and Ruhmer had been injured.  
Anyone who could injure Rhumer was definitely skilled. However Doma made a  
wrong decision in the eyes of Ruhmer, he had taken Ruhmer for medical  
assistance and retreated from battle instead of combating the mercenaries.  
He was only trying to do the right thing at the time and surely it showed  
he cared for Rhumer, but he had been chastised severely afterwards and was  
not on speaking terms with Rhumer for days.  
Doma hoped this mission would be a little more successful than that as  
he willed his sabre to float to his desk, and went to sleep 


	7. A Split Decision

Ruhmer stood by his shuttle. The sun was just daring to peep over the  
horizon, as if scared at what it may see. The fresh morning air was  
unfitting for such a dark and evil place, where pure talent was matured  
into a dark hate and anger. It was quiet, as it normally was at this time  
of the morning, the first early risers would be awake soon. But Ruhmer had  
been here all night, listening to the sounds of the night; rustles, howls,  
snaps. He did not often do this, but today he would depart on a mission and  
unlike other tasks set before him, he had a feeling something bad would  
happen. Ruhmer was not one to question what he was asked of, but right now  
he felt so strongly he longed to decline his mission. He harnessed the  
force and tried to peep into the future, but each time he tried it came  
back to one thing, Doma.  
It didn't come as much of a surprise to Ruhmer, he often blamed Doma for  
everything, and on several missions Doma would have done something wrong.  
But Ruhmer had never felt anything like this before. He decided he had  
better be on his guard at all times, especially while Doma was present.  
He sighed and turned to see a hurriedly dressed Doma racing towards him, he  
had obviously overslept. Ruhmer stared him down as Doma stood panting in  
front of him. He readied himself to let rip an enormous roar, but something  
told him not to. It was strange, Ruhmer wanted to let Doma know how late he  
was, how scruffy he looked, and generally let off some steam, yet he turned  
and got into the shuttle followed by Doma.  
The journey was a quiet one, but Ruhmers thoughts kept dwelling on his  
sudden change of heart. Ruhmer was not one to go back on his initial  
decision, and to be honest he didn't know why he had kept quiet in the  
first place. He looked at Doma sat opposite him. He was reading something,  
it looked like the mission brief. Ruhmer swiftly revealed a hand from his  
long cloak, snatched the paper and let it float down in front of him, and  
withdrew his hand. Ruhmer read the sheet quickly, ignoring the look of  
blatant surprise on Domas face. Since the loss of the rancors at the temple  
the masters were short on training beasts, so Ruhmer and his apprentice had  
been ordered to secure some other means of training. But nothing was  
specified, no breed, no planet, not even a particular type of beast. Ruhmer  
was puzzled, this would mean he would have to find a beast on his own.  
"Master? Is something the matter?" Doma broke the silence.  
"Quiet, I'm thinking of something, someone of such small intellect like you  
would only hinder me." Ruhmer was easily agitated, but the other masters  
had never set him an assignment like this and he was a little rusty on  
"what lives where".  
"Master, I've read the assignment, we could just try a dealer on Tatooine  
or somewhere." Doma had a good point, it would be simpler and faster than  
searching.  
"They would be tame! We need wild, dangerous animals, but where to get  
them.that is puzzling." Ruhmers thoughts jumped across the galaxy, from  
Tatooine, to Hoth, Blenjeel, the dealers on Coruscant.  
He decided he would visit them one by one. Maybe it would be faster to  
split up and send Doma somewhere else, but would it be safe? after all,  
Doma was at a dangerous stage.  
"Doma," Ruhmer called on his apprentice, "I'm sending you to Hoth, you will  
look for what we need there, and report to me if you find anything. I will  
go to Coruscant and try to find out where the most dangerous beasts dwell."  
Doma looked a little worried, but nodded nonetheless. Ruhmer headed to tell  
the pilot of the destinations, leaving Doma to sit and wonder as to what he  
would do next. 


	8. An old friend

Ruhmer stepped off of the shuttle onto the hard metal floor of the landing  
pad. He turned and looked at Doma.  
"Remember, make sure to let me know if you find anything, I'll do the  
same."  
Doma nodded "Make sure to come back safe."  
"Hmph, what do you take me for?." Ruhmer gave a small, very rare smile, and  
walked off to the sound of the shuttle leaving behind him.  
Ruhmer walked into the hustle and bustle of Coruscant. The reason he had  
not sent Doma here was because it would be crawling with Jedi. Their temple  
was situated here and if Doma were discovered he would stand no chance. It  
was a difficult job keeping your identity as a Sith concealed here. If a  
Jedi were about they would spot you a mile off. It was true that the Jedi  
order had discovered Ruhmer on several occasions, but none of them had ever  
made it back to the council to report his existence.  
Ruhmer strolled through the crowd, ignoring peddlers beggars and muggers  
that tried to delay him. He had a few contacts in this area of Coruscant,  
and he was headed to one in particular. He entered a shabby shop that  
people seemed to be avoiding.  
"Be with ya'n a sec!" A deep voice called from another room, followed by  
muffled voices and the occasional crash.  
A large man waddled into view. He wore glasses, which seemed to be newly  
broken, and his hair was filled with easily visible soot. He took one look  
at Ruhmer and a panic-stricken look of fear crossed his plump face. He  
darted (or moved quickly as it is very difficult for a man of this size to  
dart) towards the door. He almost got out when the door slid shut almost  
magically.  
"No where to run to Tzah," boomed Ruhmer, lowering his hand.  
"Wh-whaddayawan'? leeme alone! I ain' dun nuthin!" Tzah frantically waddled  
around the room looking for some means of escape. The doors were locked and  
there were no windows.  
"Just came for a little talk Tzah, after all, we are friends, right?."  
Ruhmer had an evil look on his face, not the normal evil look he had, but  
one that said he was really enjoying the fear Tzah was feeling.  
"Friends!?, 'sat whatcha callit? Geddout Mr high-'n'-mighty Sith!," Tzah  
drew a blaster pistol from under his counter and pointed it square at  
Ruhmer, "D-don mek-me kill ya."  
Ruhmer tilted his head in a sort of pitiful way. He held his hand high and  
shot a bolt of lightning from his fingertips. It flew forward and connected  
with Tzah's blaster, destroying it.  
"Oh no, please don't shoot me," Ruhmer sounded sarcastic "Don't be  
difficult with me Tzah, I've come for a favour. You remember your friend?  
The one who deals in Dangerous creatures?"  
"I ain' sayin nuthin! I'm not getting' 'im 'n trouble!" Tzah backed away  
into the wall  
"I thought as much," Ruhmer felt Tzah's force energy flowing, and tried  
hard to read Tzahs mind. Being quite weak minded it was very easy. ".Lan,  
Lan Duy. You gave him away to me Tzah, shame on you. I'll be leaving now."  
Ruhmer wheeled round and blew the door off it's hinges. He walked boldly  
out of the door and into the streets. As he strode away a sound greeted him  
from behind.  
"Can' lecha go after 'im Ruhmer!" Tzah was stood in his doorway pointing a  
rocket launcher at Ruhmers back. He had a look of manic fear in his eyes.  
"Die!"  
He launched a rocket at ruhmer, who still had not turned around. It  
streaked towards Ruhmer. To an onlooker it would have been inevitable to  
stop it, but Ruhmer span around and pushed it away quickly. It ricocheted  
off into a building.  
Ruhmer was angry. He charged towards Tzah, drawing his lightsabre as he  
ran. Ruhmer sped at him, ignoring the look of blatant disbelief on Tzah's  
face and cleanly chopped off his arm, other hand, and his head in a neat  
combination.  
Tzah's head rolled off down a sloping platform. Rhumer had wanted to do  
that for a long time, he had never much liked Tzah, but he had never had a  
good enough reason to kill him. It was then that Ruhmer realised he had  
blown his cover, everyone was looking at him. He quickly deactivated his  
sabre and ran off into a crowd.  
After a long dash to find a safe place, Ruhmer eventually settled in an  
alley. Two Rodians exchanging something that looked very illegal already  
occupied the alley, and had both looked up to stare at the new stranger.  
Ruhmer looked up panting.  
"Leave now." Ruhmer snarled at them. The Rodians looked at each other,  
muttered something in a tongue unfamiliar to Ruhmer, and walked towards  
Ruhmer.  
He was not in the mood. Ruhmer used the force to grip one of them and held  
him high.  
"I said, Leave."  
The second Rodian didn't dare stay, and ran off into the night, leaving his  
friend's corpse hanging in midair. Ruhmer let it drop and sat on the floor.  
He knew there would be a Jedi after him, after his display in public view  
and all. 


	9. Both Sides Of The Force

Roun yin was a young Jedi under the tutelage of his master. He was a  
promising student and was extremely loyal to the Jedi code. He had all this  
to owe to his master, Pamal. Pamal Nern was a Zabrak with fearsome  
features, but despite her look she was a diligent, and valuable Jedi. When  
Roun had arrived at the temple she had chosen him as an apprentice because  
of his amazing skill with a lightsabre. Roun could just about fend off  
anyone who threatened him, even Pamal had trouble sometimes.  
This particular evening, the two had been called before the council to  
tackle a quite serious issue. As they both walked down the corridor towards  
the council chambers, Roun decided he just had to ask.  
"Master, what are we being called here for? It must be serious if it's at  
this short notice."  
"Do not worry Roun, I'm sure it's not that serious, probably just another  
riot or two."  
Pamal was always calm, it was in her nature. Although she suspected this  
was a little more severe than a couple of riots, she was not about to alarm  
her pupil.  
The chrome doors slid open revealing the tranquil circular room that housed  
the jedi council. Their sage like eyes followed the pair as they walked to  
the centre of the room, but with a warm welcoming smile, like an estranged  
relative welcoming a loved one.  
"Ah, Master Nern, and young Roun, thank you for coming on such short  
notice. We would have asked earlier but we had other pressing issues to  
deal with," Saesee Tiin beckoned them into the centre of the room. The two  
stood silently in the middle of the room, and listened intently to what the  
council had to say.  
"There had been reports of a suspicious figure in the back streets of  
Coruscant. As you will know there are lots of suspicious people in  
Coruscant and so we took no notice. However, and I don't know if you felt  
it too, there was a ripple of dark energy in the force around 10 minutes  
ago. A few moments later we got word that a Sith was on the planet and had  
killed a local shopkeeper. We have not had any other information about this  
incident, so we would like you to go down to the streets and find him, we  
are quite sure he has not left the planet"  
Roun started to wonder, "If he killed someone why haven't the local police  
tried to find him?"  
"He disappeared after he did it and nobody knows where he's gone. Coruscant  
is a big place, it would be pointless to send out a small police unit after  
a single person, and even if they did find him they probably wouldn't stand  
a chance against a Sith." Ki-Adi Mundi answered the young jedi's question.  
"We understand Masters, we will be in touch." Pamal gestured to Roun to  
follow her as she left.  
"Roun, try not to question the council so much, they know what they're  
doing."  
"Yes master," Roun replied, "But what will we do should we find this sith?"  
Pamal smiled, "I haven't decided yet, but something will come along."  
As the two strode down the long corridor they had no idea what the  
following few days would hold in store for them. All they knew is that they  
had a task to perform, not unlike a certain other two people.  
Roun took care to take in his surroundings. He was a bright child of 14 and  
was well respected throughout the temple. The temple was a very interesting  
place for someone like Roun, sometimes even for someone like Pamal.  
A few moments after leaving the council chamber, Pamal and Roun stood  
outside the entrance to the temple formulating a plan.  
"How would you like to do a little independent reconnaissance?" Pamal asked  
Roun, "I'll search the clubs and bars where all the lowlifes are, you can  
look around the streets, how does that sound?" Pamal always seemed to have  
difficulty giving orders, so most of the time they came out in the form of  
a question.  
"Very well master," Roun replied, "May the force be with you." Roun strode  
off into he crowds. Pamal studied her surroundings, then set off at a slow  
walk towards a dingy looking bar that smelt rather strongly of something  
unmentionable. 


	10. Nowhere to run

Roun was having a hard time, everywhere he went the unfriendly inhabitants of Coruscant bundled past him, knocking him into walls and making comments about the youth of today. He was quite small in stature, but those who underestimated him, in his eyes, were fools.

He was getting rather frustrated; it was a simple activity, walk into crowd...(blank)...walk out of crowd. Nobody ever seemed to talk about what came in the middle, but he was finding out. At this point he started to wonder what exactly he was looking for. He knew there was a sith on the loose, but what were the telltale signs of a smart sith who knew he was being looked for? He would be very difficult to track down. Another thought crossed his mind, why was he on his own? Pamel knew that either one of them could find their target but easily Pamel would be most likely to survive an encounter with it. Pamel didn't make mistakes, at least not life-threatening ones like this, so she must have done it on purpose. Then again, Pamel didn't do things that were life threatening purposefully either.

Roun found that the best way through the crowds was to keep to the walls, and break away before you hit something you may have to pay for. Roun looked up, and saw a huge gaping hole in the side of a building, some kind of explosive for definite, but it looked accidental, as if it was meant to be somewhere else, out of place. This was a little unnerving for Roun, not that this sort of thing wasn't commonplace for Coruscant, but the thing he saw next shocked him more than anything. A mass, that was all he could describe it as, a mass of what looked like...person. It was, more "splattered" than sprawled, on the floor missing several body parts. Roun crouched next to it, it had formerly belonged to a local trader. He examined the wounds, they were definitely lightsabre induced. He got to his feet again, a dark ripple surged through his sense of the force. He listened carefully, not the way you and I listen, but in a way only trained Jedi can, put simply, ears are not necessary. So in actual fact, what he heard he didn't, more he felt, he felt _breathing_. Somebody was breathing and didn't want anyone to hear.

Roun began to walk again, all the time feeling these shallow breaths, they were getting louder. He jerked to a halt just before he reached an alleyway, it was the kind you wouldn't notice without telescopes attached to your eyeballs. There was somebody around the corner. With great caution, and with one hand on his hilt, he stepped forward. In a dark corner was a hooded figure, hunched over himself, the source of the breathing. Roun knew he had found what he was looking for. Something was wrong though. Roun had crept up on lots of people, he had always considered it one of his talents, he could feel his targets awareness, but _his_ was different. He was aware, aware of a short, gifted jedi apprentice watching him, but he was not moving. Roun felt a mixture of fear, and curiosity, this was unlike anything he'd done before, confident awareness.

Roun took a deep breath, and walked slowly towards the figure. It walked slowly away from him. Roun could sense there was a hidden motive to this shadowy figure's actions, but Roun followed anyway. He followed out of the alleyway, back out into the street, through the crowds of people and so on. Something wasn't right, this person wasn't stopping, they just kept walking, like they wanted to get away but didn't want to cause a fuss about it. It was weird, at any time they could just turn around and kill him, but they weren't. Roun wasn't even sure of the stranger's gender, which was a basic detail that even his finely tuned recognition of the force could not tell him.

The crowds were deteriorating. It was getting less and less busy; they were entering a fairly quiet area, which is a hard thing to find on Coruscant. Roun was aware that the later it got, the more likely it was that the dark figure would become aggressive, there would be less witnesses to see, or get in the way should things get nasty.

It was dark now. The figure stopped dead in a partially clear area, all that inhabited the place were a few boxes. It turned, revealed his face, and drew his lightsabre. Simply on instinct, Roun followed suit. The figure had a devilish grin intertwined with the evil features of his face, just as his dark soul was intertwined with the dark side of the force. However a wise person such as Roun was knew where the danger was and it was not in his face, the deadly weapon we held in his hand pipped the face to the number one position of "Attention Grabber".

The area was a symbol of the state of the force. The blue light of Roun's saber lit up the end in which he stood, whilst the much brighter crimson hue of the strangers blade illuminated his. Then in almost one movement the two streaked towards each other, Roun rolling just in time to evade the searing heat of the sith's saber as it was swung aimed at Roun's torso. He was quick enough to bring his own saber over his head to glance the strangers weapon to one side as it came thundering down towards him. Roun took the opportunity to move away while his opponent regained his balance, but his foe was quick and unleashed a flurry of strikes to the lower torso and arms, later in life Roun would remember this and consider himself very lucky to have survived it. Roun did not have even a fraction of the strength his enemy had and so every block he made tended to throw him off-balance, not only that but he was being forced backwards. He knew he would be up against a wall soon, and then it'd be over. If it ever came to that of course. He waited until the last minute and thrust a wild stab forward. Of course the sith dodged but it gave Roun enough time to get a kick in at his attacker. From the kick he launched a backward somersault that ended with his feet flat on the wall above his assailant's head. Jumping from the wall Roun shot forward over the head of his bewildered adversary and was in the clear. There was clear space between the two, and Roun valuing his life tried to make a getaway. However, turning his back on the sith was a move that worked to his disadvantage. Roun felt a hot blade slice into his leg, and immediately tripped and fell to the ground.

Roun could sense a dark cloud of the dark side floating through his sense of the force, floating in his direction. Looking up he saw the owner of the saber walking in a slow, doom filled stroll.

"I must say I'm quite impressed." For the first time the stranger spoke.

"Who are you? Why show me pity? You're a sith, sith's kill jedi." Roun was feeling a mix of confusion, slight annoyance, fear, and pure searing pain.

The stranger laughed, "That's rather stereotypical don't you think?," If Roun hadn't looked twice, he would have sworn the sith's eyes were ablaze with a sadistical menace, "You should be grateful you're alive, those I fight don't generally have this opportunity to beg for mercy. Or is begging something you're unaccustomed to?"

He was enjoying this. Roun could tell. He had never met anyone like this before; he had no sense of honour, no decency, no conscience. To him, Roun was just a plaything. Roun couldn't talk anymore, the pain was unbearable, he just dropped his head and tried to focus all his energies of healing. However, his head was suddenly pulled upwards by the hand of the grinning sith.

"I am Ruhmer, and you would do well to remember my name young jedi. Although it's funny, you remind me so much of someone, sense of defiance, but...yes, I feel it, you're afraid, just like he is."

Ruhmer threw Roun by the head into a wall, which cracked dramatically upon impact. The limp but not quite lifeless body of Roun flopped to the ground, only moving to draw breath. Roun could only hear the faintest noises, or maybe he didn't hear them at all? Maybe he imagined the sound of another saber being activated. Maybe he imagined the sound of the voice which had just threatened him screaming in agony, and footsteps fleeing the place, before it all went dark, and he heard nothing.


End file.
